I have so many things I want to tell you that my dilemma is where to start. I guess I'll continue with yesterday's post about losing weight and keeping it off and getting healthy. I'll probably go off on some tangents from time to time, but just bear with me as it will all have meaning in the end. lol
I consider a person's diet about 80% responsible for them being sick or healthy. Yes, it is that important. Other things matter too, of course, but if you think about it for a moment food is what we are actually putting into our bodies to keep them alive. Without food and water we cannot survive, and the past has shown us all what happens when we don't eat what our bodies need. They either waste away and get sick and die without food, or they get fat, bloated and sick and die with the wrong food. Diabetes is prominent in the news nowadays, because diabetes is rampant including affecting our children as never before in the entire history of man.
This is very telling, and when we look back over the kind of foods during the last couple of generations that we have been eating it is very clear as to why and how this is happening.
Before I go any further, I must state that I'm not a medical person. I used to be a nurse, but after I got sick and couldn't work any longer I let my license lapse so I am no longer a nurse, and could not give medical advice even if I was. So I must state that any diet changes you decide to take you need to discuss them with your health professional, and that the changes I will be speaking of at any point in my blog are my opinion based on my personal experience, observations, education and continuous study on a daily basis.
Anyone can lose any amount of weight and keep it off, and that is the truth. But there are a few things that one must do for that to happen, and I do mean a few. The trick is how to do those few things and maintain them for the rest of your life. You can count the important ones on one hand and all of them on both hands.
One thing I can promise you is that you never have to be hungry again, you can't continue to eat junk and be healthy of course that's why it is call junk, but you never have to be hungry again.
Carbs Are Good
EAT ONLY COMPLETE COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATES, NOT REFINED CARBOHYDRATES. Refined carbs are terrible for you because they actually make you hungry. Refined carbs include all the "whites". White rice, white flour and white sugar, and any refined carbs, and any of the foods made with any of these. One of the reason that they are so detrimental is because they raise glucose levels quickly which wrecks havoc with your blood glucose levels, and taxes your pancreas. Which in turn makes you very hungry.
Did you ever notice how you can't stop eating the white bread the restaurants puts on the table, or how you can't stop eating the pasta dishes, and then you are hungry again shortly afterwards? A lot of it has to due with the glycemic index or glycemic load of foods. Add to that the fact that most of the fiber has been remove, and fiber helps control glucose levels, and you can see why there are problems. Why would you want to eat only a part of a food especially with the beneficial part gone? Make sure all the foods you eat are "Whole Foods".
You don't have to give up those good tasting foods, but instead eat the whole grains, there are many delicious whole wheat breads, and while you are at it try to eat ones that are made from sprouted whole wheat berries. I no longer eat bread, but when I did I liked one that was organic and made with that. It honestly was the best tasting bread (outside of homemade) I ever tasted. If anyone wants to know the brand I liked just let me know, as you can buy it now in most supermarkets.
You can get delicious whole wheat pasta as well. The Whole Foods and Trader Joe's brand of organic whole wheat pasta is great and I defy anyone to tell the difference if covered with sauce and if you don't tell them. Go ahead and try it on your family and see. Just make sure you get the ones made with only organic whole wheat flour and water and nothing else. A couple of brands that have added extra things to them do taste terrible and kind of ruined it for the good tasting ones, but please trust me and try either of the ones I mentioned in one of your favorite recipes.
There are many other delicious foods to eat in place of the "whites". Brown rice is one (although I wouldn't go overboard with this as it has a higher glycemic level). Wild rice is great and so is quinoa
(pronounced keen wa) and amaranth as well. These are eaten as grains, but they are really seeds, and loaded with protein. Quinoa and amaranth are said to be a complete protein, and best of all they taste delicious, they are actually my favorites, I prefer the organic Arrowhead Mills brand.A Great Recipe
A really good way to prepare it is to boil the pasta el dente (don't overcook it), and boil or steam a lot of broccoli, then cut the broccoli up a little, meanwhile saute lots of chopped garlic until tender in a healthy oil (olive oil or better yet unrefined coconut oil) lower the heat under the garlic and add the cooked pasta and cooked broccoli and a little water to heat all the ingredients together, and stir in some parmesean cheese and/or serve it on top. Try to use organic cheese and use lots of broccoli as compared to pasta and adjust amounts of the oil and garlic to your taste. Kids love it and it is healthy simple, inexpensive and most of all delicious. Let me know if you try it.
Sugar Is The Enemy
Finally we come to white sugar which goes above and beyond in its addictive qualities. I no longer eat sugar, but I know all about its addictive qualities from personal experience. The best place to get your sugar is from fruit. I know that to people who have been eating junk food, fruit often times doesn't even taste sweet to their palates. That's how it was for me, but now fruit tastes very sweet to me, and many of them are my favorite foods of all. All the chemicals in processed foods ruin your taste buds, but the good news is they come back again after you are eating a clean diet.
If you need to use sugar to bake with try to use the lesser processed ones, perhaps the evaporated whole cane juice granules, molasses, or maple syrup and try to make sure they are the organic varieties. But it really is best to try to avoid sugar at least for a while since most are processed to some extent at least.
At this point everyone has probably heard about HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) and how especially detrimental it is, so of course avoid this, but unless you give up most processed foods and read their labels it is impossible to have a healthy clean diet.
Sugar comes in many forms, but the only healthy form is in the whole food, which is the fruit. Some fruit is high in sugar so one needs to be careful with fruit as well if you have diabetes, but eating fruit in the whole food form helps to keep the glycemic load down, since fruit contains fiber and other nutrients. Eating it with a little healthy fat or cinnamon helps to keep the glycemic load down even more. Also, never drink fruit juice, contrary to what most people think it is not healthy for you for many reasons, again eat the whole food. For example, orange juice has a higher glycemic load then a whole orange. Plus I consider it wasted calories, eat the fruit which will fill you up much more.
Processed Means Poison
You need to know that a lot of the processed foods contain chemicals to appeal to your taste buds. Let me repeat that, THE PROCESSED FOODS YOU ARE EATING CONTAIN CHEMICALS. I realized that some things we hear over and over again lose their impact, so that is why I want you to think about that statement. It is the truth. Now let me ask you, "Why would anyone agree to eat, ingest, swallow, partake of, put in their mouth, take into their precious body any kind of chemical at all"?
Please everyone, for your own health and the comfort of those that love you stop the processed foods. There are many simple recipes like the one I mentioned above that don't take much more time then the junk foods so many buy and pop into the microwave. Maybe, some of you will be kind enough to post some truly healthy, simple, quick recipes. One of the most loving things you can do for someone (including for yourself) is to cook them a healthy meal that is filled with love.
Tomorrow I'll cover another important aspect of a healthy clean eating lifestyle.
In closing, I would like to say, please don't take my word (or anyone else's) for anything I tell you. Check out what I'm telling you, google it, research it yourself, hopefully I'm giving you the leads to do that. And most important "listen to your body". One of the reason I believe in muscle testing is because our bodies have this amazing ability to know what is good for them. Your body will tell you if you will look, listen and learn. Our minds are amazing too, trust your intuition. Some of us have honed our intuitive skills to a high level, but I believe we all have it. It is that little voice inside us that speaks to us when we take the time to listen. Take care all.
Good health and wealth,
Jeanne
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